For The Best
by morethanhope
Summary: He wasn't sure why he had done it. All he knew was that it hurt like hell. Now all he can do is hope that it really was for the best. [TxG]
1. Prologue

A/N: Lyrics belong to the Rascal Flatts. Enjoy!! I love feedback!

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Prologue

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"_I can take the rain on the roof of this empty house. That don't bother me…"_

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_Drip.Drop._

Rain drops fell against the window of the apartment. The lone occupant sat on the bed, staring out the window at the falling drops of rain. He knew that if he focus on what seemed to be the never-ending flow of rain he won't focus on the closet on his right.

The closet that was now half-empty.

Her clothes being gone were only just another remainder.

The empty space in the closet that only began to resemble the empty space in his heart; now that she was gone.

"_God, she walked away. Just gave up and walked away," he thought._

The rain continued to fall as he laid back on the bed. _Their_ bed. He clutched the pillow to his chest, the one that her scent still lingered on. He breathed in the smell of her as the events of the day before flashed before his eyes.

* * *

_Flashback_

_Troy sighed as he tiredly rubbed his eyes._

"_I don't' know what to do," he thought to himself as he laid on the couch in the living room of the apartment that he shared with his girlfriend._

"_You should do what's best for both of you. You can't let her do this. You know what you have to do, Troy. It's for the best" he thought._

_The sounds of keys turning in the locks quickly snapped Troy out of his thoughts and he shot up, nervously playing with his hands as his girlfriend entered the apartment. _

"_Hey baby," she said as she walked in and placed her bags down, "How was your day? I just had a killer exam in Bio. God, Professor Tennant is so hard, he only gave us..."_

"_Gabi, we need to talk," Troy blurted out, still nervously playing with his hands._

"_Okay," she responded as she sat down next to him on the couch. She looked at him closely before saying, "Troy, what's wrong? You're acting all strange."_

_He stared down at his hands, unable to look at her in the eyes as he spoke, "I've been thinking…"_

"_Okay, what's going on?" she asked softly._

"_I…I don't know how to say this Gabi," he stuttered as he continued to stare at his hands and tried to come up with a plausible reason, "What's the most important thing in your life besides her?", he thought "Basketball. Bingo." _

"_You know how much basketball means to me, Gabi, and if I really want to play in the NBA after college, I need to really focus on it. And that means that I won't be able to focus on you and we would spend less time together…" he trailed off._

_Gabriella paused before saying, "What are you trying to say, Troy?" as tears begin to form in her eyes._

"_I…I want…" Troy started, still looking down._

_Gabriella grabbed his chin in hand, "Troy, Troy, come on, look at me," she said as she forced him to look her in the eyes. She spoke softly as tears began to fall from her eyes,_

"_What do you want Troy?"_

_His face still in her hand, his eyes closed slowly, tears springing to the surface, before he spoke softly, _

"_I want to break up."_

_At this declaration, Gabriella drew in a sharp breath and her hand fell instantly from his face. Tears began to fall steadily from her eyes as she stood up sharply. Troy kept his eyes on the floor as Gabi quickly picked up her bags and walked towards the door._

_She stopped in front of it and took a slow, steady breath. Her hand moved to the door knob, and tears still streaming down her face, she spoke softly, "Well if that's what you want. Good..." she stuttered as she began to sob, "Goodbye, Troy." _

_And then she was gone._

_End Flashback_

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Tears sprang to his eyes as he clutched the pillow tightly and began to cry.

"God, Gabi," he thought, "I miss you so much."

He curled up on the bed while still clutching the pillow.

Only one thought kept going through his mind as the rain continued to pour down.

"God, I hope this was really for the best."

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	2. Chapter One

Chapter 1

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"_I can take a few tears now and then and just let 'em out_

_I'm not afraid to cry every once in awhile…"_

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**Six Months Later**

Troy sighed as he drove down the streets of Albuquerque towards his childhood home. It was summer, which meant he was back in his hometown. It also meant it was time to see all his high school friends again. Time to see her again.

It had been six long months since he had seen her. After he had ended it, she had fled from their apartment and hadn't returned. She had come back during when she knew he would be at basketball practice and removed all her things. It was as if she had never lived there. As if they had never been together.

He had heard from Taylor that she had gone aboard to study in London with a prominent chemist.

Not a day went by that his thoughts weren't filled with her. He missed everything about her; her smile, her smell, the sound of her laugh.

As he past by the familiar sights of downtown Albuquerque, memories flashed by his eyes. He finally pulled onto his street and into the driveway of the Bolton household. He sat in his car for a moment, trying to mentally prepare himself for all the drama he knew the summer would bring.

He was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of his cell phone ringing.

Sighing, he answered it, "Hello?"

"Troy? It's Chad. Are you home yet?"

Chad. His longtime best friend. They had been separated for the first time when Troy went to Duke and Chad had stayed in New Mexico and attended the University of New Mexico.

"Hey Chad. Yeah I just pulled into my driveway. Why, what's up?" Troy asked.

"Well most of the gang is home and Taylor and I wanted everyone to get together for the first time since Christmas break." Chad said.

Troy paused, "The gang…" his stomach dropped at the thought, "Gabi…" he broke from his thoughts and said "Uh yeah, that sounds okay I guess".

"Great!" Chad said, "We're just going to meet up at my house and figure out we're doing from there. See you at 9 buddy!"

"Bye Chad," Troy sighed.

"Oh man," he thought, "Gabi...she must hate me." "Get over it Bolton," his mind screamed at him, "What's done is done. It's been six months. She's probably moved on and forgotten all about you." 

"Troy!" brought him out of this thoughts and he looked up to see his mother waving at him from the front steps.

He took a deep breath and stepped out of his car.

"Hey Mom…"

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_8:35._ Troy glanced at the clock for the hundredth time since he had gotten back. His stomach had been a ball of knots ever since the phone call from Chad. He was finally going to get to see her again.

He laid back on his bed as a million thoughts ran through his head. Before he knew it, it was 9. "Oh shit," he thought, "I'm late" as he got up and began to race down the stairs.

The car ride to Chad's was short and even though he was already late, Troy sat in his car for a minute.

Taking a deep breath, he got out of his car and walked up to Chad's front door. He rang the bell and as he heard footsteps approach, he thought to himself,

"Here goes nothing…."


End file.
